Leftovers
by Haysel McKalister
Summary: Emmeline Vance never thought she'd grow up to be a cat lady.


There is some irony in that the only thing left to comfort her was the cat that had been sent to her by Fenrir Greyback as a means to mess with her head. It wasn't the cat's fault it was picked to be part of an insane person's mindgames; Emmeline likes to pretend she'd rescued it instead. That made it easier. The lie was also easier than explaining to Fabian where it had _actually_ come from; he would've made her get rid of it immediately.

However, if getting rid of the cat would've changed what happened, Emmeline would've done it in a second. All she had left was the cat and "what if"s and past-tenses.

They'd suspected it was a trap; it had turned out to be an ambush. Gideon had been in trouble, though, and that had been all it took to send Fabian rushing out the door without even checking to be sure his socks matched. (They had; they always did. The DMLE would never again find such a well dressed murder victim.) Three more minutes and things might have ended differently; by time the others arrived it was too late.

The flat still smells like chinese takeaway and Fabian's cologne, and it's strange to know it won't stay that way. Everything is the same as how he'd left it, pork lo mein cartons and a half-empty teacup sit waiting on the table to be finished, not realizing that he isn't coming back to complete what he'd started.

The cat is curled up in its favorite spot when Emmeline finally drags herself home, blonde hair a ratted mess, covered in bruises that would eventually heal and scars that never would. The tiny ball of grey fluff is found nestled amongst discarded socks, half buried in shirts that still managed to look ironed and crisp even after Fabian had strewn off and tossed them into the laundry basket. Emmeline suspects the cat must know something is wrong; Fabian isn't there yelling for Emma to get it out of his room, it'll make his stuff smell like _cat_. His continued attempts to keep his space feline-free had only made the cat like him best.

Emmeline scoops the cat out of the hamper and brings her out of Fabian's bedroom, gently shutting the door behind her. She regrets it immediately; it echoes with a finality that would have easily sent her bursting into tears a year earlier. Less than a year, even; Benjy had been first and it feels like longer, there hadn't been enough left of him to say goodbye to. Both her parents were gone, the Bones and McKinnon families had been completely wiped out. Everyone knows that part of Caradoc died when Edgar had, they assumed the worst when he vanished. Voldemort himself killed Dorcas, a _message_ to the rest of them, and any hope that Emmeline had that there was a chance of winning the war had been lost with her best friend. She can't cry any more, it's just something else that seems pointless.

She never expects to be one of the last ones left, and Emmeline thinks that maybe it's a worse fate. The Death Eaters know where she was but no one comes; the Potters go into hiding and end up dead within the month. Peter is gone too, Sirius is in Azkaban for selling them all out. Emmeline is given a promotion at work; there's no one else left to give it to. The war is supposed to be over but all Emmeline can see is the loss.

At one point Molly tries to take the cat; she's adopted Gideon's since Dorcas isn't around to take Mandu like she's supposed to be. It's what wakes her up. Emmeline can't imagine losing the cat too.

Months pass before Emmeline lets herself live again. (Disco dies in the meantime and no one tells her; she's been through enough death.) She stops wasting time, she has to live for everyone else now too.

The cat never stops holding vigil outside Fabian's room, though -- she's waiting for the moment he opens the door to come out so that she can race inside to get fur on his suits.

* * *

Thank you to Em for the Fabian inspiration and to the people of CM! Also while I'm here I want to thank everyone who has read the stories I have up, and thank you especially for the reviews. You are all lovely.


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